Year-Round Culture

BY KIM CRIPPS

When it comes to business, real estate, and population, Gardendale is growing. Newcomers are realizing what long-time residents have known – this city is a modernday Mayberry. Offering a small-town feel with up-town amenities, it’s no surprise Gardendale has experienced a well-deserved boost to its year-round arts scene.

Looking for a theater performance? It’s here. Classes for art lovers? We have that too. Craft fairs? There are three big ones each year. But perhaps the largest gathering of art buyers, lovers, and creators is found within the booths of the annual Magnolia Festival.

The Magnolia Festival

The award-winning Magnolia Festival began in 2002 and is a two-day event with more than 25,000 attendees, says festival director Kathleen Phillips.

Phillips and her team – a cornucopia of volunteers, community groups, city employees and leadership – are careful to include many local businesses and non-profit organizations in the festival. This exposure helps non-profits and businesses gain new supporters and customers while contributing to the city’s economic development.

“We call the Magnolia Festival ‘The Total Family Experience,’” says Phillips. “An event of this size and variety provides quality of life for our citizens. It’s a destination event that keeps folks coming back to Gardendale every year.”

The festival includes art classes for kids, live music, pony rides, a petting zoo, carnival rides, a car show, a Pooch Parade fundraiser, and fresh takes on festival food.

Phillips, a former test kitchen director at Southern

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